A long time ago, I told you guys about the Wyze Cam — how awesome it was. Today, I want to tell you that what I said in 2018 is no longer true.
It’s also not true that this is a shot of a home intruder. 🙄
Wyze Labs is a small start-up that was formed by former Amazon employees. They’re based in Seattle, Washington and began producing these amazing little security cameras for $20 bucks. No monthly fee, recordings were HD, they have auto night vision, and more — and again, they were TWENTY BUCKS! The price has gone up to $30 bucks… but what hasn’t gone up. Right?
It was great. Until it wasn’t.
The free short cloud service is no longer free. It’s not expensive, but when the cameras won’t take updates and shut off frequently, they can no longer be trusted anyway. I wonder if the reason they went from 100 to 0 is they aren’t putting effort into what made them great in the first place — their cameras.
From gun safes and lamp sockets and cordless sweepers and air purifiers — to door locks and flood lights… and from scales and earbuds and head phones — to smart watches and dog robots — it seems they’re focusing more on churning out more stuff than they are about the products they’ve already sold. You want it? They got it. They’ll even sell you some COVID test kits along with a brand new sprinkler system.
They’ve lost sight of what made them great in the first place.
Come to find out, Wyze was aware of a major security flaw for 3-years without disclosing it. That’s really not cool. But what finally pushed me over the edge? If you want camera notifications and opt-in for those (why you bought the cam in the first place) — you also get their marketing push notifications. Can’t get one without the other. ARG!
Oh, and if you use a mini SD card to record so you don’t have yet another monthly subscription to pay for, you get a pop-up nag to “subscribe now” EVERY SINGLE TIME you watch an event. Remember, this is on a camera YOU PURCHASED that’s recording on a SD card YOU PURCHASED.
At least I didn’t buy their thermostat. 😁
TIL (Today I Learned): A small part of southern Florida is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators coexist. You can find out where on Wikipedia.